Sports

Wednesday, April 26, 2000

Golfers place 5th, 14th at regionals

PECOS, Apr. 26, 2000 -- There weren’t any major changes in the standings
in the second day of the Region I-4A boys and girls golf tournaments in
San Angelo, as the Pecos Eagle girls ended up fifth and 15th the boys finished
14th and 15th after the final round of play.

Snyder and Andrews took first and second to earn state berths in the
girls tournament at Riverside Golf Course, while Grandbury and Andrews
finished 1-2 to advance to state in the boys tournament, held at the Bentwood
Country Club.

Snyder won with a 608 score after a round of 302 on Tuesday, while Andrews
shot a 317 to finish at 633 for the tournament. Pecos had a round of 347
after opening with a 351 for a 701 total. Pampa, with a 325 round Tuesday,
finished with a 666 total for third place, while Grandbury was fourth,
with a 336 round for a 673 score.

“We were shooting for third or fourth, but Grandbury came up and surprised
us and Pampa played well,” said Eagles’ coach Tina Hendrick. “After the
first day we adjusted out goals to catching Stephenville and we were able
to do that.”

Pecos’ `B’ girls team cut 23 strokes off their opening round score,
shooting a 397 Tuesday to finish with an 817 total, three strokes in back
of 14th place El Paso Ysleta.

On the boys’ side, both the Eagles’ `A’ and `B’ teams cut their scores
by six strokes on the second day. The `A’ team shot a 360 to finish with
a 726 score and the `B’ team finished at 750 after shooting 372 on Tuesday.

“The first day those pin placements were amazing. The second day they
eased them up a little bit, but it seemed like some of the best teams played
better with the tougher placements,” said coach Kim Anderson. Andrews had
the day’s best round, a 298 to finish at 594, while Grandbury, which shot
a 282 on Monday, shot a 299 over the final 18 holes to finish at 581 for
the tournament.

Michael Baca cut 13 strokes of his Monday score to shoot an 84, the
low round of the tournament for Pecos. He finished at 181, while Tye Edwards
had the overall low score for the Eagles, a 174 after shooting an 88 on
Tuesday. Cortney Freeman shot 92 for the second day in a row to finish
at 184, John Granado shot a 96 to finish at 187 and Clay McKinney shot
a 108 to finish with a 207 score.

The `B’ team was led by Jack Stickels, who shot an 85 on Tuesday and
finished with a 177 total. He was following by Austin Alvarez with a 185
after a 96 in the final round, while Trey Perkins shot a 94 and finished
at 193, Casey Breiten shot a 97 and finished at 195 and David Bradley shot
a 104 and finished with a 206 total.

The Eagles’ lone medallist golfer, Jake McKinney, shot a 95 for the
second straight day and finished with a 190 score.

Anderson said the Eagles also had problems with the large, fast greens
at Bentwood, lipping several shots, and had at least three longer shots
hit the pin and bounce away. “Once you start hitting the lips on putts
and chips, it seems like it goes on like that all day,” he said.

“Our freshmen got a lot of experience, and I’m not disappointed with
the way we struck the ball. We’ve just got to find a way to get over to
Stockton or something to see if we can work on putting on faster and bigger
greens,” Anderson said.

On the girls’ side, Salem Mitchell and Amanda Stickels both shot 174s
for the tournament to lead the girls. Mitchell had an 89 and Stickels shot
an 85 on Tuesday. Lauren Martinez shot an 86 and was one stroke back at
175, Cassie Foster shot an 87 and finished with a 178, and Candace Hilliard
shot a 94 to finish at 187.

Brandi Bradley shot a 90 to finish the tournament at 184 for the Eagles’
`B’ team. Kelsey Riley shot a 97 and finished at 206, tied with teammate
Dena Dutchover, who shot a 102. Brandi North had a 106-222 and Kattie Davis
shot a 112-227 for the girls’ other scores.

“Overall, I thought they played wonderful, and I was proud of them.
We had a good season,” said Hendrick, who loses only Stickels to graduation
going into next season.

Eagles sweep San Eli, face playoff for second

By JON FULBRIGHTStaff WriterPECOS, Apr. 26, 2000 -- It took more than one game, but less than seven
innings, for the Pecos Eagles to put up some run totals like they did last
season, as they closed out their 2000 regular season at home Tuesday night
against the San Elizario Eagles.

The two Eagle squads picked up their April 3 suspended game in the top
of the 10th inning, and Pecos proceeded to score seven runs
in their first at-bat, turning a 4-4 tie into an 11-4 victory. Then, after
San Elizario took a 1-0 lead in the second inning of the regularly scheduled
game, Pecos answered with seven runs of their own in the bottom of the
second and went on to post a 14-1 victory over San Elizario, assuring the
Eagles of at least a one-game playoff for second place in the District
2-4A baseball standings.

"The kids came out and scored seven runs in the first inning, and that
built a lot of confidence," said Eagles' coach Bubba Williams. "Going into
the second game, that carried over.

"We've got to have hitting like that when we get to the playoffs," said
Williams, whose team clinched a post-season berth on Tuesday, but may face
a playoff later this week for second place.

Capi Magana, who worked the final six innings of the April 3 game, retired
the side in order in the 10th to pick up the win, then went
the first two innings of the nightcap, allowing just one unearned run in
the second inning. Luis Salgado shut out San Eli over the next two innings,
and Richard Rodriguez pitched the fifth, allowing the visiting Eagles their
only hit of the day, a two-out single by Angel Muela, who was then caught
stealing to end the game under the 10-run rule.

"I'm proud of the way the kids have played. We weren't as strong as
we thought we were going to be and we've had some things happen, but they
have a chance now to do some things in the playoffs," said Williams.

Pecos came into the game having lost their last two home games, and
having juggled their lineup several times since their last home victory,
back on March 31 against Canutillo. On Tuesday, Williams finished off the
first game with pretty much the lineup he started the season with, and
kept it in there for Game 2.

That meant putting Orlando Lara and Ricky Herrera back in at second
and third base and giving Salgado a chance to bat again in the lineup.
The three seniors came through with seven of Pecos' 14 hits against pitchers
Jerry Rojas, Bo Solis and Jose Herrera.

"The had to sit down for a while, and they wanted to get their positions
back and tonight they showed they wanted them back," said Williams

Salgado started the Eagles' seven-run 10th inning by singling
to center field after Rojas hit Josh Casillas with a pitch. Richard Rodriguez
was intentionally walked before Lara hit a grounder to first base that
Pascual Galvan fielded and threw over the head of catcher Angel Morales
trying for pinch runner Kevin Bates at home plate. Salgado also scored
on the play, and Rodriguez came home moments later on a sacrifice fly by
Herrera.

Rojas then walked Joey Garcia, before the Eagles worked a double-steal
of second and home. Lara's run made it 8-4 and Mason Abila singled home
Garcia for a 9-4 lead. One out later Magana came through with an RBI single
to make it 10-4, and after he moved up on a passed ball by Morales, Casillas
singled to right field to score Magana with the final run of the game.

In the regular game, Solis walked, stole second and scored when Casillas
couldn't come up with Jaime Reyes' grounder to first. But Pecos would get
that run back plus one more in their half of the second inning when Galvan
made the same error on a grounder by Magana, after Bates had singled and
Lara doubled with one out.

Salgado followed with a hit and Herrera made it 3-1 with an infield
single. Solis then got Joey Garcia to ground out and should have gotten
out of the inning when Abila grounded to third, but Galvan couldn't handle
Reyes' throw to first for a two-run error, and then pinch-runner Barney
Rodriguez would score on a pass ball walk to Richard Rodriguez, who kept
running to second and ended up on third when Morales threw the ball into
center field. Reyes then booted Bates' grounder for another error, allowing
Rodriguez to come home.

Reyes and Galvan would have more problems in the third. Reyes misplaying
a Salgado grounder after a leadoff walk to Magana, and Galvan then dropped
a soft pop up by Herrera to load the bases. Jerry Trujillo singled to score
two runs, and Abila would follow with another two-run single for an 11-1
lead. He then scored on Richard Rodriguez' base hit to make it 12-1.

Jose Herrera would replace Solis on the mound in the fourth, after three
straight singles by Magana, Salgado and Herrera loaded the bases. Rojas
then made a nice play at shortstop to rob Trujillo of a hit, forcing out
Herrera as Magana scored, and Salgado then came in on a double steal before
Trujillo could be tagged out in a rundown.

The wins improved the Eagles' season record to 15-6, and allowed them
to finish District with a 7-3 mark. They're a half-game up on Fabens, 15-5
winners over Canutillo on Tuesday, depending on the outcome of the completion
of the Wildcats' suspended game against Mountain View, which lost to Clint
on Tuesday, 17-2. Williams said the second place playoff would probably
be either Friday or Saturday in Alpine.